Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team?

I believe IT tools designed for legal departments will affect the role of an in-house lawyer. Software that analyses contracts by comparing them to existing contracts from a database is an interesting development. Using artificial intelligence, the software marks the contract with a traffic light system, which allows an in-house lawyer to dedicate time to only the clauses identified for revision, instead of the entire contract. Hence, contracts are reviewed faster, which saves time for other tasks that can bring more value to the company, makes the legal department more efficient, grants a better work-life balance, and makes more resources available for reducing backlogs.

This system – and others I am currently evaluating – also allows communication between stakeholders within the platform, avoiding emails to manage contracts revision. The signed contract can be stored, and the contract can be managed during its lifetime.

Why are in-house lawyers well-placed to drive change within their organisations?

In-house lawyers are well-placed to drive changes within the organisation because they have a deep knowledge of the company’s business and governance, know the regulatory environment, and can identify and mitigate risks.

Most of the important industry changes are, somehow, reflected in laws and regulations, and serves as an opportunity for in-house lawyers to further contribute to the company’s development and strategy. An in-house lawyer with relevant legal knowledge and management and communication abilities can drive change.

As an example, I would like to point out the challenges companies face to establish ESG programs, and the capacity of lawyers to tackle the matter and drive implementation.

As we live in a fast-paced world today, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

The capacity to learn about new legal matters – such as ESG, digital regulations and AI – and understand how they apply to a business is important.

Additionally, possessing soft skills such as adaptability make a great difference. For example, our team is one of the first four teams adhering to the agile method. We are being coached and use the IT toll, Jira, to manage our tasks. This method ensures better organisation and follow-up, report and transparency processes. I believe our internal clients will also see this in very near future.

A corporate legal team cannot only focus on laws; it must care about the company’s strategy, business, human resources, compliance and integrity, processes, economical efficiencies and financial results.

A strong and successful corporate legal team must be cooperative, share knowledge and experience, understand the business and its strategy and play an active role in the organisation.

What are some of the main legislative or regulatory changes that have impacted you? 

There are many legislative and regulatory changes that affects our company. On top of financial sector regulations and GDPR, I would like to stress ESG regulations are very important and must be carefully analysed and implemented. ESG has come to stay, and only a sustainable company continue to succeed in the market.